Artist: SANCTUS REAL
| Format: Audio CD
| Format: Audio CD
Album length: 11 tracks: 39 minutes, 16 seconds
Street Date: March 9, 2010
Street Date: March 9, 2010
Sanctus Real – Pieces of a Real Heart – Sparrow Records – Released March 9 – Reviewed By Tyler Hess
There are times in life when a person no longer relies on what got them to where they were. Perhaps an actor who can no longer rely upon his good looks to get him by, so he has to learn to act. Maybe a basketball player who no longer has the hops to slam it home, so he develops a cool as ice jumper. Adaptations in music, however, can be far more dangerous. A band takes the chance of alienating fans in the name of trying something different, creative integrity or maybe just trying to make what sells.
Sanctus Real, coming out of the Christian music hot bed of Ohio (don’t ask me why, but there are some amazing bands out of that place), have developed their sound in a way that will probably sell a lot more albums, but loses most of that dynamic energy that came with their pop rock hooks, settling for a more contemporary sound that probably skates a bit too far away from their earlier audiences preferences. This is best evident in their first single, “Forgiven”, which tends toward lukewarm when compared to the upbeat sound that can be found in songs like “These Things Take Time” and “Take Over Me”. The differences really tear me apart, as it seems like they have the tools to sound anywhere from Anberlin to Stellar Kart, but settle for a mediocre Starfield sound.
Grade: C+
Tracklisting:
- Forgiven
- These Things Take Time
- The Way The World Turns
- Lead Me
- The Redeemer
- Take Over Me
- I Want To Get Lost
- Til I Got To Know You
- Dear Heart
- I’ll Show You How To Live
- Keep My Heart Alive
